Are you a thought leader? What does it mean to be a thought leader anyway? The way I see it successful thought leadership is more about the leadership than it is the thoughts.

I actually started this blog post a number of months back, and for some reason couldn't finish it. In light of our first Business Author Series featuring Liz Alexander and a discussion of "Everyday Thought Leadership" next Thursday I figured I'd take another shot at the topic.

We all have thoughts and ideas. Some of them might even be game changing inside our industries or companies. The way I see it though it's really not so much about the thoughts. Real thought leadership is how those thoughts are presented, tested and acted upon.

First how are they presented? Ideas that are never vocalized or written really aren't going anywhere. It really starts with building some type of platform whether it be speaking or writing and developing an audience. Without an audience who are you really leading anyway? Here again I believe there's a quantity versus quality question. For some the size of the audience will be most important. For others the who is what matters. Either way the leadership really starts here.

Next how are the thoughts and ideas tested? It's one thing to have great ideas, but will they actually work? Have you implemented them yourself? Have they increased your own success? This is where I think your network becomes a critical component. Discussing your ideas with them will help you better articulate and improve your concepts. You might also have an opportunity to create a larger test group or even build a case study based on a specific example. This is where the rubber starts to meet the road.

Can you inspire others to action? The true test of leadership is in compelling others to take action. So you've begun presenting your ideas, and you've shown that they're helpful. Now it's time to lead others down the path of change, or build a community around your concepts.

The way I see it the end result should be a virtuous circle. Better and better thoughts and ideas come from leading a community of your peers, co-workers or constituents who provide input based on their own results and suggestions.

What do you think? Join us next Thursday morning, June 30th, and be a part of the conversation.

Happy Networking!